Hidden Within A Business Trip
by lyndsiedanielle
Summary: From what Stephanie knew, her and Paul were the perfect couple. Married with four kids, a great life and everything she could ask for. What she doesn't know is what she thought he would never do.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! Hopefully. I graduated high school. Need to move on in life. The last semester of school was just, wow, how can I put this? Umm, hell. It was just hell. Too much to stress over. But I'm gonna be back now. I can't wait to get my brain going again. =]**

Stephanie coddled her five month-old baby, Ryan, as she waited for her husband to call and tell her when he'd be home, "hello precious, hi Ryan." She held him close, a big smile coming across his face, "aww, are you smiling at mommy?" He let out a small squeal.

"Mommy, when is daddy going to come home?" Her daughter Sophia stood in the hallway, "he hasn't been home in two weeks. I want him home."

"Sophie, honey, he said he'd be home tonight. That's what he told me." She stood up and walked towards her, "I think it's time for bed kiddo. Go brush your teeth." She patted Sophie's shoulder, "I'm gonna go put Ryan to sleep and I'll tuck you in when I'm done."

"Okay." Sophie turned away sadly, "I really wanted to see daddy." She shut the bathroom door behind her.

After a few minutes of rocking and holding Ryan, she laid him in his crib and shut the light off, "Sophie, sweetie, daddy will be home, I promise you. I'll bet that when you wake up tomorrow, daddy will be here. Okay? So don't cry baby girl."

"You promise?" Sophie wiped tears from her cheeks, "what if he's not?"

"I'm gonna call him in a few minutes and tell him he needs to come home. I think he's going to be here. He wouldn't make a liar out of me." She kissed Sophie's head, "go to sleep, be ready for school tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too mommy. Goodnight." She smiled and turned over under layers of blankets, "tell daddy I love him when he gets home."

"I will." Steph closed the bedroom door and went towards her room. She cleaned her bed off and fixed her blankets, then went to her bathroom and changed into her pajamas. She got into her bed and pulled the blankets up to her neck, cell phone in hand. For a few minutes, she contemplated calling her husband, "nevermind." She put the phone on her nightstand and closed her eyes.

"Hey baby." Steph woke up to her husband's rough facial hair on her cheek, "I'm home finally. Sorry it took so long, there's a lot of construction going on at night." He stood on his hands and knees, moving his head in to kiss her lips, "I missed you."

"I missed you too Paul." She put her hands on his cheeks and returned the kiss, "and I know four others who missed you too. Sophie cried because you weren't home in time to say goodnight." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, "Lauren and Cody think they're too old to admit it, and we know Ryan just has no clue about what's going on." Before she could go on, he kissed her again, this time with a little more meaning, pressing to make it go farther than just a kiss, "Paul, I can't. Stop."

He kept a groan to himself, "what do you mean you can't?" He pushed himself up and swallowed, "baby, I haven't been home in two weeks."

"I know, but, I'm on my monthly 'routine' again. I just don't feel like it. I mean, I would if I wasn't going through that right now. I'm sorry but we have to wait a few days, give me like a week."

He stared at her in the dark for a moment, "I'm only home to do laundry really. I'm leaving again in like, two days. I don't have a whole week." He laid beside her, "I'm leaving and I'll be back in another two weeks." He held her hand while she took in what he'd said.

"Oh." She snuggled into his chest, "well, we're gonna have to wait then." The faint smell of his cologne still sat on his chest, "why can't you just stay home? You're never home for more than a week anymore. I miss when you were here more."

"Me too." He rested his arm on his side, his hand intertwined with hers, "I would like to be able to stay here. I'm really trying to let me work at the office an hour away instead of having to travel across the country. They won't get back to me about that."

She sighed, "hopefully they will, soon. I can't stand telling Sophie that you have to leave. She loves you so much Paul." She closed her eyes and drifted into a deep slumber.

"Daddy!" Sophie screamed when Paul stepped into the kitchen, "you did come home. Mommy promised me that you would be home when I woke up." She jumped out of her chair and ran to him for a hug, "I missed you daddy, you don;t have to leave for awhile right?" The kitchen fell silent and that was when Sophie knew, "I don't want you to leave again."

"Baby, I have to. It's my job." He reached down to hug her again and was left with open arms, "Sophie." She ignored him as she climbed back into her chair, "you're not talking to me now?"

"Paul stop it." Stephanie leaned on her daughter's chair, "she's upset, stop talking to her, otherwise she get's worse." She leaned over and whispered into Sophie's ear, "baby girl, why do you go to your room and calm down, and I'll be in there in a few minutes. Go in there and close the door, okay?" She patted Sophie's shoulder and watched her walk down the hallway, "that's what I have to deal with. Just sit down and eat breakfast."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He sat at the table in a speechless shock, not believing his daughter wanted him home that badly, "dad, what time did you get home last night?" It was Lauren, his oldest daughter who was normally quiet whenever he was around. She was 14, the age where she wanted her privacy, and if she needed to talk, she would talk to her mother, never him.

"Oh, around like, midnight or so. I don't remember. I should have been home earlier but there was so much construction traffic on the way home."

She just nodded, like she always did when he talked too much and she didn't care to come up with a reply. She glanced at her mother before looking back to her bowl of cereal, "cool. I guess."

"So you're leaving again?" His older son, Cody, who was 11 was turning to be the same as his older sister, asked. He wasn't much of a talker either, but that all changed in certain situations cause whenever Cody was being yelled at, whether it was about homework or chores, he knew exactly how to talk back, "when?"

"In three days." He poured cereal into a bowl that Steph had handed him, then poured some milk into it, "I'm going to Miami Florida this time."

"All the way to Florida?" Stephanie looked away from the sink of dishes, "what do you have to do in Miami for two weeks?"

"Uhm, I don't know. It's crazy huh? Two weeks in Florida, and I'm not even there for myself. It's all business." He spoke quickly, trying to take the attention off him.

"I want to go to Florida." Lauren smiled, "I want to go somewhere away from home. That would be really amazing."

"Maybe, one day soon, we could take a trip somewhere. All of us, not just me." Paul stuffed his mouth full of cereal, "what do you think Steph?"

"I think you work too much to be able to do anything with us." She picked up a towel and patted her hands dry, "I'm gonna go talk to Sophie, excuse me."


	2. Chapter 2

"Have fun daddy." Sophie gave Paul a hug although she felt like she was gonna cry, "I hope you come back really soon. I'll miss you a lot." She let go of him and stepped back, "bye."

Paul hugged Cody and Lauren, "bye guys, take care of your sister will you?" He looked at Sophie one more time, already seeing small tears running down her cheeks, "please take care of her. I'll be back and we're all gonna go do something." The last hug he had was his wife, "baby, I'll be back soon."

"I know. I just hate to deal with her. She hates this a lot." She made a slight head motion towards Sophie, "I love you Paul. Come back as soon as you can." He hugged him and held him as close as she could without squishing Ryan between them, "give your son a kiss on the forehead, and then me." She smiled.

"I love you too." He leaned down and took Ryan for a second, in which Ryan immediately started to fuss, "yeah, he doesn't like me so much, here's mommy Ryan." He leaned in to a long deep kiss with Stephanie, "I'll call you honey." He got into his car and turned the key in the ignition. He waved as he back out of the driveway and drove off down the street.

"When is he coming back?" Sophie asked, tugging at her mother's shirttail, "is he gonna be gone for two weeks again?"

Stephanie took her hand and nodded, "yeah honey, he is. Two more weeks without daddy." The four of them walked inside together, "at least he left before you guys went to school. You guys got to see him leave this time, usually he leaves during school."

"Yeah." Lauren grabbed her backpack and looked at her cell phone, "well I missed the bus. Three different schools this morning." She sat down at the kitchen table, "if it's easier, you can take me to school last."

Stephanie looked up and smiled, "that would be great Lauren. Thank you." She gave Sophie her backpack, "Cody, are you ready to go? We have to go early because I have to drop all three of you off."

"I'm ready mom." Cody slipped a sweatshirt over his head, "okay, now I'm really ready." He followed his two sisters outside to the car, "who's getting dropped off first?"

"You. Then Sophie." Stephanie started their van up, "what time does the mall open? Is it eight or nine?" She slowly backed out of the driveway and drove down the street.

"Eight." Lauren answered back, "and nine on Sundays." She went back to typing on her cell phone, "you're gonna go to the mall?" She sighed in disappointment.

Stephanie gave her a reassuring glance, "I'll talk to you after I drop them off." She pulled the van into the Westwood Elementary parking lot, "I love you Sophie, have a good day, try not to think about daddy leaving, okay?" Sophie just gave her a little nod, "have a good day sweetheart." She watched as Sophie closed the door and walked towards her classroom, "she's not having a good day so far."

"If I liked dad that much I would have a bad day too." Lauren blurted out, "I mean, I'm not saying I don't like dad, but, I don't see whatever she sees."

Cody's jaw dropped at his sister's comment, he didn't know whether to agree or try to make an argument so he just closed his mouth and stared at her, kind of waiting for his mom to say something back, but she didn't.

"Bye Cody, have a good day at school. I'll pick you up right here, okay?" Stephanie smiled at him until he slammed the sliding door, "what do you mean, you don't see what she sees?"

Lauren looked through the window, "I guess I've just never gotten to know dad. He's never home, and when he is, he's tired all the time, or he doesn't talk to me, so I don't talk to him. Him and I have like, an awkward father-daughter relationship. It's like we don't know each other at all."

Steph didn't put the van in drive, they sat parked on the curb of Pine Hollow middle school for a few minutes as Steph thought of something to say, "do you want to spend time with him? I can make that happen."

"I don't care anymore. If I want to talk I'd rather talk to you. Not him." Lauren crossed her arms, "I'm gonna be late if we just sit here.

"I was planning on having a day where you and I could hang out, just us. And Ryan too." She put the van in drive and slowly went towards the high school, "or I can just take you to school and go to the mall by myself."

"So you're having me ditch school to go to the mall with you?" She smiled, "sure, anything is better than sitting in class for hours."

"We don't have to go to the mall if you don't want to, we could go to other stores." Stephanie turned the van back towards their house, "I need to take a shower and get dressed, and then we'll go, alright?"

"That's cool. The mall's fine." She grinned, this was the first time her mom let her do anything fun. Normally whenever her mom did something fun, like go shopping, or go out to eat, she did it alone, kidless except for Ryan and Sophie before she started school. Stephanie always did stuff while her and Cody were at school, this was different, and a good feeling.

"Can you keep and eye on Ryan while I'm in the shower? Usually I try to shower during his nap. Thanks." Steph grabbed a towel from the hallway closet and walked back to her bedroom.

Lauren sat on the couch watching TV, she heard the shower turn on, and as if Ryan knew his mother was busy because he started to fuss and tear up, "Ryan, come on, don't cry, I don't know what to do if you cry." Ryan stared at her for few seconds before throwing his hands up and full-on screaming, "shhhhh. Ryan, it's okay, I'm your sister, shhh." He calmed down a little in her arms, "are you hungry? Or is your diaper dirty, I hope you're just hungry, I know how to feed you. I hate changing diapers."

She went into the kitchen and looked at the big can of baby formula, "let's see if your sister can make this right." She held him in one arm and started to mix the food in water, "okay, let's stick this in the microwave and see what happens." She pulled the bottle out and managed to squirt some on her arm, "ouch, it's hot." Ryan giggled, "oh, you think that's funny huh?"

"Lauren, what are you doing?" Stephanie stood in the kitchen entrance with a towel wrapped in her hair, "did you make it right?" She picked bottle up off the counter and shook it, "did he start crying?"

"Yeah, so I thought he was hungry. His diaper didn't smell bad so it wasn't that." She blushed, "I didn't really know what to do, I followed the instructions on the can."

"It looks right. Do you want to feed him? You can do that while I do my hair." She passed the bottle back, "test the temperature again and sit on the couch with him."

"I've never fed a baby before. Not even Sophie." Lauren sat down on the couch and cradled him, holding the bottle in her opposite hand, "he really is hungry."

"Its not hard. You've got it. I'll hurry up and fix my hair and we'll go." Stephanie smiled at the two before walking away.

Lauren pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and opened a new text message, with one hand she typed 'I wish you didn't have to be gone all the time.' She hit next and chose the recipient, marking the little check box next to 'Dad'.


	3. Chapter 3

Paul's cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his pants on the floor. It rang once, indicating he had a text message, "fuck, I forgot to call her." He jumped out of bed and felt around the floor for his clothes, taking his phone out and reading the screen. It was from Lauren. Seeing her name and the situation he was in at that moment, he didn't read what she said, he hit the end button and placed the phone on his mistress's dresser.

"Was it her?" his mistress, Jillian, asked, sitting up and covering herself with a sheet. Jillian knew he was married, and that he'd been married for 15 years. She knew he had four kids, and that she was 'the second girl' but he continued to tell her he needed her, so she stayed.

He shook his head, "no." He contemplated getting back in bed with Jillian, or putting his clothes on and going for a walk to think. Before he came up with an answer in his head, he had already subconsciously put his clothes on, "I'll be back, I'm just gonna, take a little walk, and call someone back."

Jillian smiled, "okay, I'll be waiting for you." She bit her lower lip back as he closed her bedroom door. It was still light outside, but her bedroom was dark, lights off and curtains closed. The living room was orange, coming from the sun setting through the front window.

He wasn't in Florida. And he wouldn't be for a few more days. He had lied, but only partially, he indeed was going to Miami Florida, and would be gone, for two weeks, from his house. He just didn't mention he'd be an hour away for one week, and in Florida the next. He didn't know how he could go on living his life in half of a secret. He didn't know why he felt he needed Jillian and Stephanie. Every time he left Jillian's house, he wondered why he went there in the first place, why wasn't he just happy having Stephanie and his kids? "Hello? This is Motel 6 right?" He held his phone to his ear, "I need a room for two nights," he needed to be by himself for a little while, "yeah, just one person. Thanks." He hung up and grabbed his stuff as fast as he could, bolting out the front door.

"You said you were going for a walk, why are you getting in your car?" Jillian stood in the bedroom doorway, "I think you might need these if you're driving." She held his keys out to him.

"Family emergency. Lauren." He took his keys and closed the front door behind him. He got in his car and screeched the tires out of her driveway. He drove a half-hour to the Motel 6 and parked, "hi, I'm Paul Levesque, I called a little while ago about a room, just me, alone." He stood at the front desk, "thanks." He took the card and walked up to the second level of the building.

He threw his stuff on the floor and threw himself on the bed, pulling his phone out and dialing Steph's phone number, only to get to voicemail, "hey Steph, um, it's me, calling to let you know, I had to go to the office first, so, I've been at work all day. I'm gonna stay here at a hotel tonight, but I'll call you tomorrow. I love you..." he paused, but couldn't say goodbye so he just hung up. He thought about what he'd said. It was all a lie, everything he said was a lie. He made it up to cover the fact he left another woman's house, someone else's bed. The worst part, he thought, was that he knew Stephanie would believe him. She'd hear what he said and not even ask questions when he called her in the morning.

He laid on his back in the bed and closed his eyes, thinking about everything he did that day. He made his daughter cry. The one daughter that liked having him around, he made her cry because he was supposed to be working, not sleeping with another woman. He prayed that if things really went down the drain, like he knew they most likely would, his kids would still want him as their father.

He woke up to a dark room with a slight stream of sunlight coming through where the two curtains met. The lights immediately flickered on when he moved, they were on a motion sensor to conserve energy in times when people just fell asleep, like he had done. He looked over at the alarm clock, it was 7 AM. He'd been sleeping for a half a day in his suit. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he tried to spot the remote for the TV. Just then he remembered the text message from Lauren that he never read. He fumbled around in his pockets only to find his phone had fallen off the bed because he never put it back. He opened it and pushed a few buttons to find messaging. He read the message and felt as if the world came crashing down around him. 'I wish you didn't have to be gone all the time', that was normal from Steph, or Steph telling him that Sophie misses him, but for that to come from Lauren, it was weird to him. He never thought that Lauren would ever say something like that. His family wanted him more than he knew, and it seemed to him he couldn't accept that.

He picked up his phone and called into his office, "hi Steve, I can't make it to Florida. I need vacation time. I'm having a little family emergency." He nodded as his boss talked. Steve was the boss who Paul made seem like an asshole, but in reality, Steve was the best boss he'd ever had. He understood life, and family, and respected that, "thanks Steve, this really means a lot to me." He hung up and dialed Stephanie's number, ""hey baby, guess what?"

"What?" Stephanie sounded as if she was running around and annoyed, "I got your voicemail last night, are you in Miami now?" He heard Ryan fussing in the background, "I can't really talk for that long."

"I guessed." Paul thought about what to say, "I have some really good news honey. I'm on my way home. I showed up at the office, but they said they didn't need me, so I have two weeks vacation."

"Really? Oh my gosh! That's great Paul. You have no idea how excited the kids are going to be. Especially Sophie."

Paul smiled to himself, "yeah, I know, how about we keep it a secret and I'll go with you to pick Sophie and Cody up from school."

Stephanie was grinning, "that would be great Paul, I'll see you when you get home." She hung up and thought about what he said. She was happy, but the way he explained the situation replayed over and over again, and it seemed odd and out of place. She looked over at Ryan, who had fallen asleep in his portable crib, "I think daddy's lying to us." She got on the computer to check their bank account activity,

She knew Paul had two accounts, there was the one they shared, and he had a personal one. She never checked his other one, because she felt she had no reason to. She logged into their shared account and clinked on a couple tabs to find the activity report, when she got to it, she saw that the top line was billed at a Motel 6, three hours away. Paul had stayed at a motel the night before, close to work, or so he made it sound, but the name of the town was three hours in another direction, almost four hours away from his work.


	4. Chapter 4

Stephanie sat in her bedroom and thought about Paul's story. She hated herself to think he was cheating, but things just didn't add up no matter how she put them. She knew that if she asked him about it, and he really was cheating, he would lie, and that would make her look stupid.

She heard a phone vibrate and noticed it wasn't hers. She followed the sound of it to a pair of Paul's slacks in the hamper, "hello?" She answered it, with a slight thought in the back of her mind.

"Is Paul there?" It was a woman's voice, "he left my house yesterday, and he never called me back."

"Who is this?" Stephanie asked, trembling with anger, but before she could be answered, she knew, and stomped to the bathroom where she ripped the shower curtain open and hurled the phone at Paul's face, "who is she?" She screamed, "you haven't been working, you've been lying to all of us!" Tears streamed down her face as she pushed him down in the tub, "I hate you so much!"

Paul couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say, he'd been caught, it was too late to make up an excuse now, "Stephanie." Before he could get anything else out, she punched him square in the nose and his feet slipped from beneath him on the slippery bathtub surface.

"Get out of my house!" She wiped her face, "I don't even know what to say to you. I had a feeling for the longest time, but I knew if I asked, you would lie to me, and I think I've been lied to enough."

He nodded, holding a towel to his waist and his other hand catching the blood pouring from his nose, "I'm sorry."

She pushed him, "don't talk to me. Get out of my house, now. Gather your shit and get the hell out."

He couldn't argue with her, it was her house, her parents bought it for them when they got married, but it really was her house, he was there to pay the bills, and it seemed that way sometimes, "fine, let me get dressed and I'll leave, unless we can talk about this tomorrow. I'll sleep on the couch, and we'll talk about this when the kids are at school."

"No. You're leaving. Hurry up and get your stuff." She saw his face and how he bit his lip, how his eyes couldn't look at her, he did that when he was about to cry, "how could you do that to me. Paul, your daughter Sophie, she cries every time you leave, she cries because you're supposed to be going somewhere for work, and you went out and slept with some slut. How dare you put her through that? What a great father you are." She watched as he pulled his suitcase out and stuffed clothes into it.

He wanted to tell her to keep it from the kids, at least just Sophie. But with all the yelling and screaming, he knew she already knew, and so did Cody, and Lauren. Lauren who he just realized actually liked him, "stop Steph, please stop."

"You did this to yourself. You're the one that cheated." She opened the door, "we'll talk when I call you. I really don't feel like talking for a long time. Bye"

"Bye." He took his bag and walked down the hallway, seeing Sophie in the doorway of her room, staring at him, tears down her cheeks. At the end of the hallway, Cody and Lauren stood beside each other. Cody stared at him, and in his stare, Paul could see the disgust and shock in his face. He glanced to Lauren, who in return turned her face away from him, also with the same look as Cody. He wanted to mouth that he was sorry, but for some reason, he couldn't. The walk down the hallway seemed to last longer than ever, even with the fact that he was trying to hurry and leave.

He got in his car and sped off, not really knowing where he was going to go, but Steph wanted him gone. He got up to the end of their street and contemplated what to do. He couldn't call anyone, his phone was still in Stephanie's bathtub. He drove to Denny's and walked in, "hello sir, just one?" The bouncy waitress asked, grabbing a menu.

"Yeah. Just me." He gruffly choked out, following her to a corner table. He had to admit, she was cute, but he didn't even want to think about that.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" She giggled. She was obviously flirting with him, but he pretended not to notice, "why do you look so sad?"

He shook his head, "sad? I'm fine. I'll have lemonade I guess." He looked at the menu pretending to be so caught up so she wouldn't question him some more.

When she came back, he ordered his food and pretended to be lost in thought so she'd leave again. He ate in silence, the only sound he could hear was the sound of his fork and knife on this plate. A family sat at one of the larger tables near him, and he could feel his stomach turn within his gut. Tears burned the back of his eyes, and he couldn't help but stare at the five of them. He couldn't even begin to think about how jealous he was at that very moment. He bet himself that the father wouldn't even think about cheating on his wife. He wondered to himself, why did he feel like he needed to cheat on Stephanie? She was the one he wanted to marry from the second he laid eyes on her, but still, he went out and slept with someone else, as if Stephanie wasn't enough for him.

"Sir, sir…? Do you want more lemonade?" The waitress poured lemonade from a pitcher into his glass, "are you alright? Can I get you anything else?"

"I'm fine, I was just thinking, that was all. I think I'm okay with everything, can I get the check please?"

She nodded and bounced away, he noticed the whole restaurant was filled with families and kids, or at least tables with more than one person, he was the only one there sitting alone, "here you go. Have a good evening." She gave him one last flirty smile before taking his empty plate and walking away.

He took one last long drink of his lemonade and stood up, taking the bill to the front of the restaurant, "did you gave a good dinner?" The friendly manager asked, typing on his cash register.

"Yeah. It was good." Paul stared at him, noticing he had a certain familiarity about him. He knew someone who kind of looked like him, "here's my credit card." He couldn't help but to stare at him.

"Just sign here, thank you. You have a great evening." The manager smiled as Paul nodded and walked away.

He got back in his car and turned the key, wondering what he was gonna do next. He pulled out of the parking stall and took one last look at the restaurant, seeing the manager slightly through the big glass window, "I know where I'm gonna go. I know." He said to himself, driving out of the parking lot.


	5. Chapter 5

Paul pulled into a dark trailer park, looking for 231. His headlights were the brightest think in the entire park. He found the right trailer and stared at it, it was completely dark, there weren't any lights at all. He pulled into a parking stall and got out with all his stuff. He went up to the door and knocked, at first, he heard nothing. Then nothing turned into footsteps and a cat screeching. He heard someone yell 'fuck!' before the door finally opened.

"Oh, it's you." Shawn stood behind a screen door with a huge hole right in the center, in nothing but some plaid boxers, "what are you doing here? You didn't call."

"I need somewhere to stay for a few days. Or maybe just a night. Stephanie and I are having some…" he didn't really know what to end that sentence with, he was the cause of what their problem was, "issues right now." Paul looked around, "can I come in?"

"Yeah, oh, sure, here." Shawn reach out the hole in the screen to the door handle, "it doesn't work from the inside." He pushed the door open and welcomed Paul inside, "sorry it's a little messy. Rebecca and I have been so busy with Nathan. You would know how that is." He took Paul's bag and placed in on the floor beside the couch, "what kind of issues are going on? I mean, it was so bad you left?"

Paul stared down at his feet, "uh, just, issues." He didn't want to tell Shawn, he knew Shawn had always had a bit of a friendly crush on Stephanie back from when Paul married her, and he didn't want to know what Shawn was going to say, or do.

"Come on, you can tell me, we're pals, buddies, I tell you everything, so, you should tell me. They can't be just small issues if you left the house, left the kids."

"She kicked me out of the house, in front of the kids. I've been cheating on her for a year and a half Shawn. She found out, and, well the girl, Jillian, she called when I was in the shower, and Steph answered my phone. The next thing I knew, my phone was thrown at my head and she started beating the shit out of me. It's over Shawn, I ruined everything. I had to go out and be stupid, and I fucked everything up."

Shawn really just wanted to reach out and sock Paul right between the eyes, but all he did was stand up, "I was about to punch you." Paul noticed his stance and couldn't help but turn his lips into a slight smile, "you want a beer?" Shawn got up and went to his fridge, "okay, so, I won't punch you. But I just want to know, why, why'd you cheat on Steph?"

"I don't know Shawn." Paul took the glass of beer from him and sipped on it, "can I use the bathroom really quick?" He stood up and walked to where Shawn pointed, "thanks." He shut the door behind him and let everything go. He leaned over the sink and let the tears fall down his face. As he cried, he heard a female voice talking outside the door.

"Shawn, who is that?" The voice asked, trying to remain in a quiet tone.

"Rebecca, honey, that's Paul, one of my college friends. He was supposed to be at our wedding but he couldn't get time off work to drive to Vegas. We've been best friends since our freshman year of community college. Baby, he can stay right? Him and his wife are doing so good right now. And tonight, he can't really go anywhere else."

Paul listened in on their conversation until it was all said, and all Rebecca had o do was answer the question. It was a long period of silence, so he washed his face with cold water and dried himself so he could come out, "hi."

Rebecca glanced over him, "hi, I'm Rebecca, Shawn's wife." She shook Paul's hand, "how long do you think you'll need to stay?"

"I don't know, not too long hopefully. My wife just wanted me, out, we need a little time alone." Paul noticed her tired-looking eyes, "I'll watch Nathan for a night or two, to return the favor. You and Shawn could go out on a little date or something, and leave Nathan here with me. I have four kids, it'll be okay." Paul thought about his kids, and their faces when he walked down his hallway after the big blowout between him and Stephanie, "Nathan right?"

Shawn nodded, "Rebecca, let him stay, I think that would be a great idea. We could go to the movies, an then dinner or something." He smiled when she nodded.

"Okay, yeah, he can stay for awhile. That's fine with me." She grinned, "but I'm tired and you have work tomorrow, so don't stay up too late." She kissed Shawn's lips and disappeared down the hallway. Seeing them kiss was like a dagger through Paul's chest. He remembered when Lauren was first born, and how much him and Steph were in love, and with Cody too. But a few years later, when Sophie was born, they seemed to kind of fall apart, not wanting each other anymore. It was sort of a miracle when Ryan was born. He was conceived in the beginning of his affair with Jillian. At the point when he and Stephanie could barely stand to be in the same room without at least one kid in the room with them. Conversation was kept to what was for dinner and when Steph's parents were visiting. When Ryan was born, Stephanie seemed to want Paul around a lot more. And after all of her not wanting him for so long, it overwhelmed him, and he came up with a reason of why he cheated.

"Paul?" Shawn waved his hand in front of Paul's face, "you alright? What are you thinking about?" He grabbed Paul's beer, "drink this, don't think about her too hard."

"I know why I cheated." Paul gulped some of his beer down, "she didn't want me. Ever since Sophie was born, she hasn't really wanted me. She pushes me away, and I needed someone, and I found Jillian. I'll admit it was my fault, but, if she actually wanted me, I wouldn't have needed Jillian, and I wouldn't have cheated."

"But it is your fault. It's always the guy's fault. Just take responsibility and the fight will be over before you know it." Shawn nodded with a mouth-full of beer, "tell her you're sorry. Don't blame her."

"Tomorrow, I plan to talk to her." Paul chugged his beer, "how much more you got? I'll go out and buy you some more tomorrow."

"There's a twelve-pack in there. I just opened it for us. So there's ten left, help yourself." Shawn put his glass on the counter, "I don't know if you should talk to her right away. Give her some time to think about what happened, and how much of an asshole you are."

"Thanks a lot Shawn. Thanks for the advice." Paul poured himself another beer, "I have to talk to her. At least about what's gonna happen to us. Shawn, I need my kids, you should have seen the way they looked at me when Steph kicked me out, I was walking down the hallway, and, their faces, they hate me. I need to at least talk to them."

"Yeah, well they hate you right now probably. That's the way life is, you make a mistake, and everyone hates you. You need to do something really amazing for them to even start to like you again." He patted Paul's shoulder, "my advice is, don't talk to Stephanie yet, let her think." He clicked his teeth, "goodnight. There's blankets and pillows in that coffee table, it opens." He silently walked down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's been a few days. I was busy practicing for my driver's test, in which I failed on Monday. I'm was upset for a day and I've been practicing some more to take it again in a month. And I've been stuck, but, here it is. =]**

Paul walked up the steps and knocked on the door of his own house. Lauren opened the door and looked at him for a second, "mom, guess who's here." She rolled her eyes and walked to her bedroom.

Stephanie came to the door and slammed it shut, "Stephanie, open the door. I want to talk to you." Tears once again burned the back of his eyes and he stared at the closed door, "Stephanie, please, let me talk to you."

"Mom, just open the door." Lauren stood in the living room, "please just talk to him. I want things to just go back to normal. Listen to him mom, please."

Stephanie looked at Lauren, "why? This is my house, and for him to do what he did, I don't ever want to see his face again."

"Fine, if you don't open the door, I will." Lauren got up and flung the front door open, "hi dad, come in." Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"You never wanted to see my face anyway." He yelled in the door, his eyes burning a hole in Stephanie's head, "you pushed me away after Sophie was born. You wanted nothing to do with me. That's why I did it. There you go. I cheated because you didn't want me, and I needed you." He took a deep breath, "I love you, and no matter what, I will always love you."

"If you needed me, then why didn't you come to me? You went for someone else! You must've not needed me that much."

"I did, but you didn't want me. And it's so fucking hard to talk to you without you bitching me out about the fact that I work too much and I'm never home. I'm never there for our kids, or even I don't ever do anything for you. If I didn't do anything, we'd be living in a fucking trailer like Shawn!" He looked at Lauren, "Lauren, honey, can you go get Ryan and hold him until your mother and I are done talking? Please? Thank you."

"Where'd you go last night? To your little skanky girlfriend?" Stephanie shot him down again, like she always did.

"No, actually, I went to Shawn's house. I was gonna go to a motel, but I didn't have a cell phone to call and see where a closer one was. Thanks to you, throwing the damn thing at my fucking head!" He scoffed, "and why do you always have to do that? Why whenever I do something, you always have to look down upon me. Like I'm this horrible husband of yours. Lucky you don't even have to work, what a horrible husband I am, making money for us so you can be home to take care of our kids and I get beat down."

She whined, "Paul, I could work if I wanted to." She looked at him, his face trying to hide a little but of laughter, "what? I could. And you aren't a horrible husband, you never were."

"Then why did you treat me like that? You always talk bad about me behind my back, if you had a problem with me, why don't you tell me. Not someone else, but me." He looked at her, "I forgot something, and I came to get it." He pushed past her towards their bedroom.

She sat in a chair in the living room, thinking as he came back out, "so you've been at Shawn's? How is he?" She wiped tears out of her eyes, "how's Nathan?"

"Shawn's fine, Nathan's fine, and so is Rebecca." He answered, "where's my phone. I'm gonna take it back and see what happens at the store."

"It's, here, I'll get it." She got up and quickly walked around him, "I put it in the top dresser drawer after I dried it. It still works, the battery's just dead." She opened the drawer and handed him his phone.

"It still works?" He took it and smiled, "well that's cool. Um, I'm gonna stay at Shawn's again, I offered to watch Nathan for them for a like a night, so, I'll talk to you later I guess." He noticed he wasn't yelling anymore, and Stephanie wasn't yelling at him. He considered what she would do if he leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips or cheek, but decided against it, "bye."

"Bye." She half-smiled. She heard the front door close and his car drive away, that was when Lauren decided to come back, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that honey."

"I don't know if I like dad anymore." She turned around, "why'd he do what he did? Sophie's still really upset."

"I know she is. But why don't you like him?" Stephanie thought about how calm and happy her and Paul seemed just a minute before, "his reasons are between him and I, okay?"

"Whatever. He cheated on you, and if you guys still stay together, he'd better have pretty good reasons on why he did it." Lauren stomped to her room and slammed the door.

"You know what Lauren, whether or not your father and I stay together is none of your business!" She yelled and kicked her daughter's door. She'd never felt so angry yet ashamed at the same time. Lauren's already troubled relationship with her dad just got even worse. But in the back of her mind, Stephanie believed Lauren was right. She felt like she couldn't just forgive Paul and take him back like what he did was no problem.

She waited for an hour and on her way to pick Sophie up from school, while she was alone, to dial Paul's phone number. She let the numbers sit on the small screen before she got the courage to just hit call.

"Hello?" Paul's voice made her smile, just like it always did, "Stephanie, what's up?"

"I was just, uh, calling you to kinda talk. Why are you watching Nathan? I mean, you barely watch our kids. And I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm just asking."

He paused to think, "umm, I don't know. I guess, you, you were always there to watch our kids so I worked, and, well it was like you didn't need me." He sighed, "is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Why does it feel like you don't want to talk to me?" She sniffled, "we never want to be around each other. Why can't you and I just, do something one day, like, go out with the kids and go shopping, or watch a movie, or dinner. I avoid you because you avoid me."

"Babe, don't cry." He bit his lip, "how about we take the kids out to dinner? I can't do it tonight, but, how about tomorrow?" He waited for Stephanie to answer, "what's a good movie out right now? For the kids."

"I don't know, I can ask Sophie when school gets out. You really want to go out to dinner with us? What are you doing tonight?"

"Watching Nathan for Shawn and Rebecca. I mean, we could go out tonight, I think that would be okay, we would just have to take Nathan with us too. If that's okay."

"Yeah, cause we'll have Ryan too," she smiled, "remember before we got married, when we were dating? I think we liked each other then more."

"Why do you say that?" He frowned, thinking back to when they dated, and when he proposed to her after a year and a half. They were so happy to be together, they loved each other so much. Now it just seemed they were together for the kids.

"I'm just saying, I don't think we really love each other anymore. I wish we could go back to then, and I wish it wouldn't take marriage counseling, like it probably does." She saw Sophie skipping towards the van in her mirror, "I have to go. Sophie's about to get in the car."

"Alright. Umm, I'll come to the house tonight, and we'll have to take the van. But, I'll be over there around, like, six, is that okay?" He caught himself smiling.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then. Bye." She hung up by the time Sophie got the door open, "hi honey, how was school?"

"Okay I guess. I'm still sad." She crossed her arms and looked out the window, "I still miss daddy."

"Good cause we're gonna see him tonight." Stephanie smiled, "he's taking us out to the movies and out to dinner."

"Really? I thought you and him were mad." She giggled, "what movie are we gonna see?"

"Well I needed to talk to you. What movie is out that you want to see? You, Cody and Lauren have to agree on one when we get home okay?" Sophie smiled, too busy to answer back, she just nodded.


	7. Chapter 7

Paul opened the front door, "hey Sophie, Lauren." He smiled at both of his daughters, "where's your mom?"

"In her room getting ready." Sophie smiled. Paul walked down the hallway and knocked on his bedroom door, "Steph, it's me, can I come in?"

"Hold on like two minutes." Stephanie hurried herself into getting her makeup on. She was putting mascara on for the first time in almost two-years.

Paul stayed outside the door for a few seconds, then opened it, handing her a small bouquet of flowers, "for you honey."

"You're so sweet." She grinned, but continued to cake mascara on, "I wasn't even ready yet. I told you to wait."

"Yeah, but, I figured you were dressed, so, I mean, what's the problem, you are dressed. Why are you putting makeup on? You never wear makeup." He watched her with her eyeliner pencil.

"I know, but I wanted to look nice today. I can wear makeup if I want to." She applied a think layer of lipstick, "where's Nathan?" She changed the subject away from her and looked around.

"Oh, Shawn said Rebecca's time of the month came and she doesn't want to go anywhere. But, I asked if he wanted to watch our kids tonight, so, it can be just you and me for dinner." He bit his lip, "is that okay? If not, we could go to dinner with them and go see a movie."

"I think that's better because Lauren and Cody couldn't agree with Sophie on a movie. Although that doesn't surprise me, but, I think it would be better for us if we could be together, alone first."

"You want me to tell them that they're gonna have a babysitter, or do you want to do that?" He stood up, "I'll do it, be right back." He held the flowers to her and walked back out the door, "hey, guys, your mom and I decided that since you guys can't agree on a movie altogether, we're gonna have you stay at one of my friend's houses instead, okay?"

Lauren looked at him, "I guess. What friend? Have we met her before?" It was a blow to the chest, "or is it a him?" She gave him a devious smirk.

"His name is Shawn. He's been my best-friend since college." He sighed, "you guys are gonna stay with him and his wife Rebecca tonight, and maybe you guys can help him with his son Nathan, and Ryan. Just be good over there, please."

"Okay daddy. Do you think he'll let us watch a movie over there? I'm gonna bring a movie just in case." Sophie ran off to her bedroom, leaving Lauren and Paul alone.

"You don't talk to me like that Lauren Michelle." Paul turned to her, "your mom and I are having problems and it's none of your business." He put his hand in his pocket and walked back down the hallway. When he got back to his bedroom, he noticed how beautiful she looked, "wow."

She only blushed, "what?" She knew what he said, and why he said it. He finally took the time in his busy life to look at her, and notice her beauty, "are we ready? Let's go."

His breath was caught in his throat, "I just uh, said wow, because, you look amazing tonight." He followed her back out, "come on Sophie, Cody, we're leaving, get in the van. Lauren, you too."

Lauren gave him a despised glare before walking out the door. He saw it, but shrugged it off, pretending not to notice, "hurry up, I told Shawn we'd probably be back around six-fifteen. I just came to pick you up."

"So who's Shawn?" Cody asked, looking up from the floor, "have we ever met him?"

"Yeah, you have, a long time ago. I'm sure you don't remember. You dad hasn't talked to him in so long. I have to say, I haven't even seen Shawn in like, forever." Stephanie smiled, "and I've never met Rebecca, I've only seen pictures of them and Nathan when he was first born."

Lauren rolled her eyes, still glaring at the back of her dad's head, "why can't we all go out to dinner? Why just you guys?" She rested her head on her hand, with a slightly upset expression on her face.

"Your dad and I need to talk alone a little bit. I promise that soon, in the next few days, we will all go out to dinner and talk all of us. But right now, that didn't seem like the best idea." Stephanie turned around in the front seat, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lauren sighed, "I was just wondering why we aren't going with you." Her eyes met her dad's in the rear-view mirror. She knew why he had looked at her, after their conversation earlier.

"He's adorable!" Rebecca opened the door and reached out for Ryan, "isn't he cute?" She looked at Shawn, who just half-smiled, "come in you guys, I'm Rebecca, or Becky, and this is Shawn." She moved over and let everyone inside.

"Hi Rebecca, these are my kids, Lauren, the oldest, Cody, Sophie, and you're holding Ryan. And this is my," he paused to think, was it an appropriate time to still call Stephanie his wife? Or after what had happened, was Stephanie going to say anything different? "This is my wife, Stephanie." He blew out a small, unnoticeable sigh when Steph didn't even look at him.

"I haven't see you in such a long time Stephanie." Shawn held his arms out for a hug, "and I haven't seen you guys since you were like, this tall!" He smiled at Cody and Lauren, holding his hand to his waist, "and I've never met Sophie, but your daddy shows me a lot of pictures."

Sophie grinned, "when are you coming back to get us?" She nervously clung to Stephanie's leg.

"We aren't gonna be out too long." Stephanie hugged her and smiled at Paul, "we'd better get going, right?"

"Oh, yeah, we'll be back in a few. Maybe like an hour or so. Not long at all." He put his arms around Sophie, "just tell Shawn you want to watch your movie and I'm sure he'll let you, okay? Don't worry."

She nodded and let go of his shirt, "bye daddy." She frowned but walked into the living room with Lauren and Rebecca.

"I'll be back in like an hour or so, do you need Ryan's car-seat?" Paul, Stephanie and Shawn walked back to the van, "what are you guys doing for dinner?"

"Rebecca said we're probably gonna go out for dinner because we don't have the money to fill our kitchen with food. So yeah, I'll take the car-seat. We should have enough room in the station wagon."

Paul shuddered at the thought of Shawn's station wagon. He knew Shawn inherited his father's station wagon when he started driving at age 16, and he'd had it ever since. For the past twenty years. The car was a hideous gas-monster, but Shawn just couldn't come up with money for another car, no matter how hard he tried, "okay, here's some money for the kids, go out and have something other than fast-food." He handed him a hundred-dollar bill, "thanks again for watching them on a late notice."

"It's no problem really, I know you would have done the same for me, right? With Nathan." He stuffed the money in his pocket, "thanks Paul. But you didn't have to do that." He looked away, "I need to get a job. How'd we go to the same college, and you came out Mr. Successful, and I can't even get a job at Burger King? It sucks, Becky's always yellin' at me and stuff."

"Keep trying. You'll get a job, sooner or later." Paul opened the door to his brand-new Chrysler mini-van as Shawn stared at it's glossy paint. Paul knew Shawn had stopped hanging out with Paul because he was jealous of his spending, and the way he looked at him and his car explained everything, "I'll see you later." He closed the door and started the car, honking twice as he drove away.


	8. Chapter 8

Paul pulled Stephanie's chair out when they got to the restaurant, "here you go honey." He smiled as she sat down.

"So, what are we here to talk about?" She put her purse on her lap, waiting as he sat down and opened his menu, "Paul?"

He looked up at her for a second before the waitress came towards them, "I'll have water," he watched as Steph ordered her drink, "I wanted to talk about what happened. I want to apologize for what I put you through the other night. I'm sorry."

What he said took a few seconds to settle in her mind. Was he really sorry? Or was he saying it so he could come back from living with Shawn? She bit her lip, in silence, "Paul," she sighed, she didn't know what to say to him.

"What?" He gave the waitress a fake smile when she gave them their drinks, "I think we're gonna need a few more minutes, thanks." His eyes reverted back to Stephanie's, "Paul what? Stephanie, please forgive me. I would do anything if we could just go back to the way we used to be, please."

He was practically begging her, which made her feel even worse. He was making her feel bad, even though he was the one who cheated and fucked everything up, "I wish it would be that easy Paul." She took a drink of her water, refusing to look at him. She dressed up for him, she didn't know why, maybe inside she wanted to make everything go back to normal too, but make him work for it, "explain to me why I should."

"Babe." He didn't think it would be this hard. He knew she also wanted them to go back to normal, and he thought it would be easy to convince her, "I love you. I'm sorry for what I did. What do you want to hear Stephanie? That I fucked up? Well fine, I did, I fucked up, I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promise."

She shook her head, "can we wait a little bit longer for this? I don't want to, but I think its better for us." Every word she spoke burned her eyes, she didn't want to wait, she wanted him back right that second but she didn't want it to seem like him cheating was okay, "I love you too."

"Okay, so why do we have to wait? I love you, you love me, I'm sorry. I don't want to wait baby. Come on." His begging made it harder for her to push him away.

"Don't you think that if I forgive you in a week after finding out about what you did, it makes me sound desperate? At least Lauren said so. I don't want to sound desperate."

"I understand that. But, I don't want to wait." He ordered his food, he was hungry, although his stomach was turning and he knew he would barely be able to eat. He waited as she ordered her dinner, then gave her a look of despair, "and by the way, forget what Lauren said, she hates me anyway, of course she would tell you that."

"She doesn't hate you." Stephanie shot back, "she loves you as much as Cody and Sophie, she just shows it differently. Maybe if you were home more often she would like you more. Ever since we had her you've never been home, she doesn't even know you. Hell Paul, I barely even know you anymore."

That hit him, "honey, I know, but its not my fault. I can't help that I work a lot." He thought for a second, he hadn't always been working. It was a year and a half ago when he had met Jillian and started sleeping with her, and continuously lied to Stephanie and his kids that it was work that made him stay away from home.

"Yeah, except you weren't working. You had a girlfriend on the side. Don't you think I should be upset about that?" She shook her head, "you lied to us. What makes you think I want to trust you again?"

"I know I lied to you guys. And believe me, I regret every time. Please give me another chance, I won't lie to you ever again, I promise." His only chance was begging. He didn't want to be the one crying in the middle of the restaurant although that's what he felt like doing.

She stared up into his eyes, seeing that he was upset, and truly sorry. She felt sympathetic, she was making it be like this. She could have said yes a long time ago but chose to continue the argument, "okay Paul. Fine. But I swear to God, if you do that again, and I find out, you and I are over, and I mean it."

He nodded, "I'm sorry. I promise." A rush of happiness and relief fell over him, "and maybe you're right. I'll stay at Shawn's house for another night, or two if you want."

"As much as I want you home, you should stay at Shawn's house for a few more nights, and we can take the kids out to dinner in the next few days." She smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled back, he knew it was better, he just hoped Lauren would feel the same way. He felt bad for saying that Lauren didn't like him. If she didn't like him, why would she have sent him that test message about him begin gone all the time? But at the same time, why didn't she talk to him about the message when he got home? It was then he understood their relationship, he was never home so she never got to know him, and it just got worse and worse. He thought while the waitress gave them their food and he took a bite of mashed potatoes, "you think I could bribe Lauren into liking me again?"

"What?" Stephanie put her fork down, "did you just ask if you could bribe Lauren into liking you? She does like you."

"No she doesn't," gulped down his water, "I know she doesn't." He felt bad on the inside, but had a feeling he was telling the truth, "I know Stephanie, she hates my guts, whenever we're round each other its like, she finds a way to tell me off, or there's an invisible force, and she won't come within four feet of me." He ate some more, "oh, you don't know what she said to me when I came and picked everyone up. I told her and Sophie that they were gonna stay with a friend of mine. She gave me the world's evilest glare and asked if they've met 'her' before."

She smiled, "well she is your daughter. And you have the same attitude. The way you used to act when you were younger resembles the way she's starting to act now. She just takes after her daddy."

Her words ran through Paul's mind, Lauren was exactly like Paul had acted all through high school, and beyond, "I guess you're right, " he bit his lip back, you don't think Cody will be like that, do you? Or Sophie?"

"I don't know." She looked at him, "why do you seem so worried about it. I'm sure Lauren might change a little bit if you would take the time out of your life to hang out with her."

"Hmm." He nodded, "okay, that sounds like a good idea." He pulled out his brand-new cell phone and put in on the table, "so, the other phone stopped working. Must've been the water." He waited for her to answer, "or the impact against my forehead, I'm not really sure." He grinned when she broke into a quiet laughter. He started typing on the keypad, choosing Lauren as the recipient. When it said sent, he placed it back on the table, waiting for her reply.


	9. Chapter 9

Lauren heard her phone ring in her jacket across the couch, where Rebecca was sitting with Ryan. The five of them were watching Beauty and the Beast, "um, Rebecca, I hate to bother you, but, can I have my phone from that jacket?" Rebecca nodded and handed it to her, "thanks, sorry." She opened it and saw who the message was from. No one knew, but she put his name in her phone as 'Daddy'. She hit open and read what he typed. "I'm sorry for what I did to your mother. I love you and I hope you can forgive me for being a jerk. Love dad.'

"Who is that?" Cody asked, trying to look over his sister's shoulder, "is that from dad?"

"Yeah," she shut her phone. But he didn't say anything about you guys. Just me. He asked me a question." She sighed and contemplated whether to answer the message or not. She stared at the TV screen for a few minutes, then opened the phone and typed back, 'I love you too dad. I'm sorry about the comment I made earlier. I forgive you.' She smiled as she typed.

The phone vibrated on the table, "oh, it's me." Paul quickly snatched it up, biting his lip as he read it, "okay, so maybe I was wrong. Maybe she doesn't hate me." He put his fork down on his plate and pushed it back, "I'm so full now. That was good wasn't it?" He tapped his phone on the table before thinking of what to reply back. He looked at Steph's shirt, "I was wondering, um, Lauren likes shopping right?"

She nodded, laughing, "of course she does. She's a teenage girl who thinks she doesn't have enough clothes." She put her napkin down, "why?"

"Just wondering." He stared down at his phone screen, "I was gonna ask her if she wanted to go shopping with me. You think she would?" He stood up and pulled the chair out for her, "did you have a pretty good time? I did." He reached for her hand and noticed she pulled away, "Steph?" She looked up at him, longingly, and before he could control himself, she grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers. His arms held her close at her waist, "I love you."

She smiled, somehow, she felt things were gonna change, "I love you too." He grabbed her hand and slowly pulled her towards the car, "so, what do you wanna do now?" He tried to hint what he wanted to do with a sly smirk.

"I think we should go get the kids." She opened the car door and got in, "we've made up, there's nothing else to do."

He nodded and got in the van on the other side, "yeah, you're right I guess. There's nothing else. I was gonna say to go get the kids too." He lied, turning the car on and letting out a slightly agitated sigh.

"What?" Stephanie sensed the tone of his sigh, "what else were you thinking?" She looked up at him with an angry stare.

"Umm, nothing really, just maybe our bed, I don't know. It's been awhile." He put the van in gear and made his way out of the parking lot, "nevermind."

"You really think so Paul? It's been longer for me than it has for you, remember?" She snickered, "you know, just cause I forgave you, doesn't mean I don't have to stop dogging you for what you did."

He slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road, "I'm fucking sorry!" He yelled, "you're doing it again. The nagging really isn't necessary."

"Oh, for cheating on me, you deserve it." She sat silent with her hands in her lap, "I'm sorry for when I did it before, and you didn't deserve it, but now, I think you do. And I didn't say it to anyone else, I said to you!" She screamed back.

She had him, she was right, it wasn't like she was complaining to anyone else, it was just them in the car. No kids, nobody else, "alright, yeah." He rolled his eyes and pulled back onto the street. He refrained from saying anything else that might have gotten him in a deeper pool of hot water.

"Why is it so dark here?" Stephanie asked as they drove into Shawn's trailer park, "his house looks empty, like no one's home."

"He's home. It was like this the other night when I came here." He put the van in park, "do you want to come? I can just go in and get the kids real quick if you don't want to go out in the rain."

She smiled, "okay, I'll stay here." She watched him get out and run around the front of the van.

"Shawn, it's me, open the door." Paul knocked twice, then looked at his watch, the kids should have been in bed already, or at least the younger ones, "oh, hi Rebecca."

"Shawn's asleep. So are Sophie and Ryan." She let him in, "I can take Ryan outside if you pick up Sophie."

"Oh, okay," Paul picked Sophie up, grunting under her weight, "put a blanket over him because it's raining outside." He followed Lauren and Cody out the front door and to the van, "can you guys sit in the back? I can't put Sophie back there." He took Ryan from Rebecca and put him in his car seat "how were they?" Before Rebecca answered, he shut the sliding door.

"They were great Paul, Lauren's sure on her cell phone a lot though, they say that its not good if a child between the ages 5 and 16 is on their phone, computer or television more than like, three hours a day. They have problems sleeping and don't do as well in school usually."

"She was texting me at least." He bit his lip, "but yeah, anyway, I'll be back after I take them home." He got back in the car and started it, "what did you guys do while we were gone?"

"Watched Sophie's movies." Lauren sighed, "that's why I was texting you back so fast, I was bored." She looked out the window.

"Where'd you guys go to dinner?" He glanced at her in the mirror, "he told me that you guys were gonna go out somewhere so I gave him a little bit of money for you guys."

"Olive Garden. It wasn't really that good though, I didn't each very much." She sighed again, "my chicken was raw. So I ate the small salad and the pasta. And a piece of bread."

"What about you Cody? What did you have?" Paul pulled into his driveway and shut the car off.

"Spaghetti. My food was fine, but her chicken was really pink in the middle, and when we felt it, it was kinda cold, she sent it back but she didn't want to eat it." He opened the door beside Sophie and climbed out.

"I would want to eat that either." Stephanie got Ryan out of his seat, "I'm gonna go take him to his crib. She unlocked the front door and disappeared.

"Stay in the van really fast, I want to talk to you for a second." Paul looked at Lauren, "here's the keys, listen to the radio while I go put Sophie in her bed." He and Cody walked up to the front door.

When he came back, he opened the passenger door, "are you hungry? If you spend the night at Shawn's house with me I'll get you something to eat on the way there."

"Wait, you're going back to Shawn's house? I thought you and mom went to dinner to talk so you could come back home." She frowned, "are you gonna get me to school in the morning?"

"Do you want to go to school in the morning? Go get your stuff and yeah, I'll take you." He moved out of her way, "I'll talk to your mom about it, just go pack."

Stephanie stood behind him at the front porch, "talk to your mom about what?" She crossed her arms, "where's she going?"

"Well, I offered that if she stays the night at Shawn's with me, I'll get her something to eat on the way there. She's hungry cause she barely ate." He closed the door and came towards her, "I'll get her to and from school tomorrow, no problem." He stood in front of her, leaving just a few inches between them, "I don't really see why I have to ask you, I am her dad." He leaned in and kissed her again, putting his arms around her waist and holding her close.

"Eww, get a room." Lauren stood in the doorway, "I'm ready dad, I got all my stuff. Can I have the keys to your car so I can put my bag in there?"

"Yeah, here, I'll be in there in a second. You can turn the radio on in there if you want." He waited for her to walk behind the van, "where were we?" He leaned towards her again.

"I think you were just about to go back to Shawn's house." Steph put her hand on his chest, "I'll talk to you tomorrow Paul. Goodnight." She kissed his chin and pushed away.

"I forgot my cell phone charger." Lauren came back up the walkway and went back in the house. "Goodnight mom, I love you, I'll see you tomorrow." She hugged Stephanie.

"Goodnight honey. I love you too." Stephanie waved at them as they walked towards the car, "alright Cody, time for bed." She turned around and went back inside.


End file.
